Originally Posted by ultramarina
Same could be said of gifted programs, of course. (I suppose not all are expensive, and skipping is not expensive, though also not right for many kids.)

Exactly. I actually question the value of gifted programs, having read here and elsewhere that so many of them are not much more than a few hours a week of doing stuff that doesn't truly address the needs of gifted kids. When I was a kid, all the money for the gifted students actually went to special ed. frown

Mixing math classes and reading classes by ability rather than age would be very cheap. When I was a kid, this practice was the norm at my school.